Glacier View Condo Suites (Accommodations) - Whittier, Alaska

David E.

I emailed in advance and asked how I could get there from the cruise ship terminal with luggage. DO NOT EMAIL but phone as they DO NOT answer email. They will pick you up, and allow you to check in at the Anchor Inn restaurant and then drive you up to the condos. Our condo was on the 14th floor of the building most people in Whittier live in. The unit was clean, comfortable and quiet. The views are excellent. Only one elevator out of two at the west end works, and the building's heating system was having. Issues, so we opened windows and were fine. There is a full size stove and fridge, with a coffee maker (with coffee packs to make coffee) and a toaster in the unit. There are plates, cups, cutlery in the unit. There is a store beside the anchor inn to buy food but we ate in the Anchor Inn restaurant and it was fine. We were picked up the next day and given a great town tour. Their handyman / driver was friendly, and . Thank-you

Tyler P.

This place has a nice view. Smells like it's been smoked in heavily over the years and no batteries in the smoke detector when we arrived. This made it tough to stay in, but not any other options for overnight really so we were stuck.

yulia_yst

The place needs maintenance and didn’t feel clean inside. Pillows smell like someone slept on them, hair on the bed cover. Kitchen feels dirty - stains on the cupboards and walls, there were cups and utensils just by the sink, old filthy sponge and towel by the kitchen sink. Looks like they forgot to put soap in the bathroom. Our lamp shade was covered in brown spots. Old carpet and linoleum. We paid 375 per night - not worth the money. Views from the window are really nice.

Kendall M.

This was a unique hotel, but not bad. The check in was a short drive away at the Anchor Inn bar, but there was good communication beforehand so we knew what to do. The “hotel” part of the Begich towers were the top two levels, of a 1950s government project style building, so if it seems like you are in an apartment building with locals living in the rooms around you… you’ve came to the right place. The rooms were a bit dated, but clean nonetheless and the view was spectacular! We got the Mountain View room and we could open up the window and hear the water running off the snow capped mountains and that’s what made this place truly great! And it was about a 1/2 mile walk away from the Phillips Cruise Dock, so if you can do a little walk, save the $15 parking fee, keep your car here and walk for free. Again I would recommend this place!

Jackie N.

Absolutely the worst place we have ever tried to stay. The place to check in was on the second floor in a Resturant that was a dump. There was a man standing outside talking and every other word was the f word. I got the key and went to the building where the rooms were ( about a quarter of a mile away. It was raining and there was no clear place to park so my wife stayed with the car while I took the luggage up to the 14th floor. One elevator was stuck on the second floor and the place was a dump. When I got to the room the key would not open the door. We didn’t feel safe so I took the key back and we left. Didn’t get our money back. Drove all the way back to Anchorage. We have travelled a lot and that was our worst experience ever

Chris W.

Way way over priced for a 60 year old outdated hotel that smells funny.

The one nice thing is that our room had an entire kitchen from its time at army officer quarters during the cold War. Which also seems to be the last time any renovations were made.

The ceiling tiles all had water damage, and the metal support bars were all covered in rust.
The ice trays in the freezer were growing some sort of brown gooey stuff.

There were broken tiles in the shower.

Broken outlet covers in the bathroom.

Broken blinds in the main room, which was extra cool since the sun doesn't go down here until after 11 this time of year.

And the best part, it's right next to a massive, and busy train yard. So we got the full sun all night, and the train yard lights and sounds to ensure no sleep at all.

The staff is friendly and accommodating though. There was a mix up with our reservation date, and they handled it and fixed the problem.

If you go in realizing your getting a 2 star hotel, in an overpriced tourist trap town then you won't be to let down.

Dana H.

I saw another review that noted this was the strangest place they had ever stayed on vacation...I second that. As others have said, it's a multi-story (our room was on the 14th floor) apartment building built in the 1950's. Most of the town lives in the building, too. It was clean but musty and super outdated. Hardly anything on the walls so it was stark and un-welcoming. A little bit of TLC (and air-freshener) would go a long ways. The view was pretty great- of the industrial harbor and the mountains. It was a roomy apartment, I'll say that, and at least included coffee. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was tiny with no place to put your hygiene items. The tub would not hold water and when I first turned on the shower the water came out brown. There were a couple of pieces of tile from the ceiling in the tub as well. For $125 in the off season, the price was pretty steep for what we got. But when there's nothing else to pick from, you get what you get. We did appreciate being able to get a late check out since our glacier tour wasn't until 1 pm. And the lady at the restaurant where you check in was very nice. She was also our server for dinner.

Brennan R.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A REAL REVIEW READ THIS.

We (me + 3 adults) arrived in Whittier to do the 26 glacier cruise. It was fantastic!! We then started to wonder, wow there isn’t much in this town and 75% of the 200 person population all lives in this one, 15 story, WW2 army barracks. But no way, that couldn’t be.

As we went to check in, we checked in at a dive bar with a couple of locals mingling and hanging out. The bar tender then gave us our key. Room 1406 and pointed us “at the high rises” aka THE WW2 army barracks.

We went to drive down the road and a black bear was strolling thru the town looking for food.

Pulled up to the building and some locals were hanging outside and we walked past into the elevator and to our room. When we tried to put the keys into the door a woman’s voice yelled from the inside “excuse me?! Whose there?!” We looked at each other. Back down the elevator, back in the car, back to the bar.

Once we got back to the bar we told the bar tender “someone was in that room”. They the. Proceeded to scramble to figure out what was going on. While that was going on. The local at the corner of the bar leans over to us and says “I’ll give you two a place to stay”. After some exchange with that very nice and potentially scandalous woman, the bar tender explains they gave us the wrong room key and we were room 1405.

Back to the army barracks we go!! We get inside the room (it’s end of august) and the heat was so high it had to be 80* degrees in there.

The place was clean! It was very WW2 vibes + some white paint. Very dated. May or may not catch bed bugs. Beds seemed very old but looked clean. Bathrooms were straight from the 1950’s with pink tile and very small.

We put the keys on the table and drove to anchorage to grab another hotel for the night and chalked up $250 to a good story.

If you have read all this, hope it helped and gave you a chuckle. Maybe I’ll end up on the top of Reddit one day when someone discovers this ridiculous and very true tale.